George Pickens situation has changed again after Jaxon Smith-Njigba deal

The Dallas Cowboys seem happy to have wide receiver George Pickens play on the franchise tag worth around $27.3M for the 2026 season instead of locking Pickens down via a multi-year extension. 

Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks made news when they and star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba agreed to a four-year, $168.6M deal that included $120M guaranteed. Previously, Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals was the league's highest-paid receiver at $40.25M per season. 

As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio explained, Pickens will likely only get more expensive for the Cowboys or a different team with each month that he remains on the tag.

Are Cowboys, George Pickens close to signing an extension?

"His desire to get a long-term deal will only become stronger, now that two other receivers have made it to the $40M threshold," Florio wrote about Pickens. "The Cowboys and Pickens have until July 15 to get a multi-year deal signed. There has been no indication that any negotiations have begun. The Cowboys will likely push it to the deadline, while also lamenting Pickens’s absence from the offseason program."

It's currently unknown if Pickens will participate in voluntary workouts while on the tag. The Cowboys' offseason program is scheduled to get underway on April 20. 

Why George Pickens may become "more determined" to not give the Cowboys any type of discount

ESPN's Brady Henderson noted that the Seahawks may have gotten something done with Smith-Njigba so that they wouldn't "have to top whatever number Puka Nacua gets on his megadeal from the Los Angeles Rams." Florio thinks Nacua could become the next receiver to ink a contract worth at least $40M per year. 

"That will make Pickens even more determined to get [a deal worth $40M per year]," Florio added about the Cowboys' situation. 

That said, K.D. Drummond of Cowboys Wire/USA Today seems to think "there's no way the Cowboys are coming anywhere close to" matching the value of a contract allegedly wanted by Pickens and agent David Mulugheta this spring. 

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has offered no public sign that he will trade Pickens this offseason. Nevertheless, this storyline continues to be one to follow amid Pickens' supposed desire to stay with Dallas.